Ronald K.L. Collins and David M. Skover, the authors of "The Trials of Lenny Bruce", had a clear reason on writing a book based upon the life of Lenny Bruce and the period of time when he was prosecuted for his comedy routines. The purpose of the authors was to show how far America has come along since the 1950's. It shows that America used to take offense to almost anything that was thrown at it. The thesis shows that America was not as intimidated by the use of foul language by Lenny, but the fact that Lenny had touched base with both religion and the society in his routines. The authors have shown their intent based upon the clear fact that they stated many times in the book that they were pro-Lenny and by telling the reader that Lenny was prosecuted because of "foul-language" but in all honesty, it was because he was questioning authority. There is definitely a need for this book, because this book explains that Lenny was a true advocate of free-speech and it lets everyone know about how his trials were unfair and not legitimately based.
The authors went about their task by looking into the legal aspects of the trials. They said that the trials were not fairly judged and that the jury was not a completely fair jury. The author's evidence was reliant upon the past cases that were put forward by the Supreme Court. They also heavily relied upon what happened in Lenny's life to show
how Lenny progressed as the trials went on and how his routines changed from fairly comedic routines, to serious routines. The routines were more about society in general to begin with at first, but as Lenny's addiction to heroine increased, the comedian became more and more fazed by the trials. The author's sources were the legal documents that the Supreme Court had on Lenny Bruce, as well as other books on Lenny, movies, recordings, both published and unpublished interviews with people that were involved in either the trials that Lenny was in, or lived during the time that Lenny was alive, radio programs on Bruce, newspaper articles or reviews on Lenny, and court documents that involved the cases that Lenny had. The author's use pictures as a graphic way of seeing Lenny and getting to take a look at the guy instead of just assuming a picture into the mind. The pictures add very little to the text, though, as they are partly used for filler for the book. The authors also included an audio tape to the front of the book. The audio tape really did add to the meaning of the book, because instead of just reading about his routines, it allowed for the reader to actually listen to his routines and see what Lenny was clearly trying to state during his routines. It proved a point that in order to really know what was going on at the time, you had to listen to what Lenny was saying, and not just writing that was placed in a book. No book really can exclaim the same meaning as an audio tape can.
The author's were both successful in writing this book. They did not have to go about and write this book, but like Lenny, they wanted to change the opinions and feelings of others for Lenny. They were both graduates of law school, and are not only successful in the legal area, but they are also talented and diligent in the writing area. The
authors persuaded me to continue reading through the book, because they were able to use colorful language and the fact that they knew what they were clearly talking about. These writers were not just completely opinion based during this book, but they were also legally based in the sense that they were able to show what was legally going on during the trials, and Lenny's life. As stated before, this book had a need to be written. It had to show that Lenny was not just there to make "naughty swears" in his routines, but it showed that Lenny questioned authority, and that was what really got him into trouble. I would highly advise for people that want to read about Lenny's life to get this book. It really does show that Lenny was not just a figment of history, but that his comedy is still widely accepted today. Go pick a copy up for yourself, and see what the 1950's were really like in America.
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Jazzman
Written by lawyers and it shows in this jubbled effort!
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